To think that town/ city life is often healthier than rural life?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

I've just been speaking on the phone to a good friend who has just made the surprising move of leaving their big, beautiful 'forever home' in the rolling countryside and moving into an unremarkable bungalow on the edge of a large commuter town. They are so much happier and she was describing how their quality of life has improved. They are healthier as its now safe to walk wherever they like ( their dogs are fitter than ever), they have more time because of a shorter commute and less maintainence, they know and like their neighbours and have joined a local political campaign group, have more money ( only one car now), eat better because of the improved shopping options and their kids are finally able to learn independence now they can use buses and pavements. I am so pleased for them, as they weren't certain about this choice.

Similarly, when I visit London, I'm always struck by the older people, students and kids enjoying the cultural and sporting opportunities ( and cheap transport).

I'm not ignorant of the issues in urban environments, especially for some people. I worked for years in children's services in an inner London borough, although I'm not convinced the issues were less in the large shire county, where social isolation can be devastating.

AIBU to think that for many, if not most people, and especially older people age families the chances of enjoying a good quality of life are better in urban/ semi rural communities, rather than trying to live the rural dream?

Broogle that really wasn’t what I was thinking of (when I described my fake friends the Smiths 😄) - I was thinking of a smallish village I know in the north Midlands that has most of the facilities I mention but definitely wouldn’t be described as commuter belt. I do know what you mean though, and the places you describe in that post are not what I think of as really rural.

I think this thread will never really reach a consensus as there are just so many variables, as several other posters have pointed out, and of course we all have different takeaways on what constitutes rural and semi-rural. All we can probably agree on is that it’s more convenient, particularly for elderly people and families with young children, to live closer to their preferred facilities 😃

I grew up in a city but now live just outside a small village in the Northeast. DD is at the brilliant village school which has been fantastic for her SN.

We're only 25 minutes drive from the centre of Newcastle. DD's school were recently involved in a theatre production in one of the city centre theatres.

The nearest supermarkets are under 10 minutes drive away. We have a great GP practice in one of the neighbouring villages where appointments are easy to get and are not far from a number of good hospitals. The coast and the most beautiful countryside are within easy reach.

We do have a fairly crap mobile signal in the house and have to drive everywhere and I have to say that my car and clothes seem to be permanently covered in mud at the moment.

Having said that, I do find that when I visit family in the city where I grew up I feel a bit hemmed in and find the light pollution at night very bad.

As other PPs have said it depends on the individual and if for any reason I couldn't drive we would have to move. However I love living here and have eaten the best lamb ever which was a Christmas present from our farmer neighbours.

country people sneering and looking down their noses and say they could never live in a city as it’s too crowded and bragging about how it’s so peaceful and quiet to live away from everyone, and then moan whenever there is a flood because nobody can get to them and they’re isolated

Is it sneering to state a preference? I absolutely hate busyness and bustling. I love peace and quiet.

We don’t flood though. Too high up - everywhere else is fucked if we flood

Is it sneering to state a preference? I absolutely hate busyness and bustling. I love peace and quiet.

We don’t flood though. Too high up - everywhere else is fucked if we flood

No, of course it’s not sneering to state a preference, and to be clear I didn’t mean anyone on this thread. But I have had people laugh at the fact I live in a city () and ask what it’s like breathing in pollution every day rather than fresh air () and how I could do it without wanting to kill myself! And then had the nerve to get pissy when their village got flooded and nobody from nearby was helping them and I said “but I thought you liked that you don’t live near anybody”?

Absolutely I live in the country and I do so much more walking when I go to London or other big city.

Here you have to drive everywhere whereas in London you walk to the train station then you walk a far way to the tube then you walk to where you are going

I have lived in Devon by the sea and in the rural Wiltshire countryside, and I by far prefer living in the commuter town that I'm in now.

I don't drive, the public transport in both places was crap. The employment opportunities were rubbish, and there were high drug problems in the Devon seaside town where I lived as there was nothing for teens to do there. I would not want to raise my DS there.

I live in a town in between two cities now. Public transport runs between them 24 hours a day so it's great for work. Cinemas, shops, bowling, leisure centres all nearby. There is also a large nature reserve nearby, plus we are an hour away from the Peak District if we want green walks.

I can see why rural living appeals to some but as an extrovert non-driver it was hell for me. I never felt safe being so isolated and I was so bored.

and then moan whenever there is a flood because nobody can get to them and they’re isolated

Ha ha ha. Good one. We don't get flooded here and if we get snowed in we have a freezer full of food, a wood shed full of wood, a 4x4 and excellent broadband. Weather holds no fear for us (although its a bit muddier than I'd like atm)

You do definitely have to be prepared to be a bit more self-sufficient if you move away from town, with the level of self sufficiency increasing the more isolated you get! We were stuck for a week during the beast from the east, but we were ok as we were ready for it. Would have been tough if we’d been relying on being able to get to a shop every few days though.

I do like visiting towns and cities, I enjoy the buzz and culture and things, but it’s always nice to get home again afterwards. We stayed at my parents’ place last month to keep an eye on some relatives while they went away, and while it was convenient to have supermarkets and things within walking distance, I was glad to get back to a bit of peace and quiet. I’ve done big city living and it just doesn’t suit me. 🤷‍♀️

Ha ha ha. Good one. We don't get flooded here and if we get snowed in we have a freezer full of food, a wood shed full of wood, a 4x4 and excellent broadband. Weather holds no fear for us (although its a bit muddier than I'd like atm)

Unless we know each other, I wasn’t talking about you

Oh and the crime rate is very very low. London knife crime would bother me a lot if i had teens there now.

I did live in London for 15 years on and off, but I couldn't live there now. It's fun and lively, but I feel quite claustrophobic after a couple of days.

Ah well, perhaps not everyone you know in the country worries about being flooded. Or were you talking about someone specific?

I know that... I was talking about what some people from the country had said to me about living in a city

Definitely something in this OP. We left London for a rural village, no pavement outside our house, nowhere to walk to unless it’s the post office. I drive everywhere, it’s a pain. Despite the rolling hills I miss convenience and how much I used to walk. I thought I’d walk loads here but I don’t. And having a baby here was a pain.

Ah I see TheNameGames, yeah they sound like twats!

It’s a personality issue.
Yes, exactly. I have lived in small towns/outskirts of larger towns/small villages for most of my life and found with city life that the benefits did not compensate for the things that I missed.

I find large urban areas stressful, frustrating, noisy and frenetic. When I stay over night with a friend who lives in a large city, I'm amazed at how light and noisy it is outside when I wake up in the small hours. When I lived in London, it was still took me half an hour to get to decent selection of shops. I know I would not be suited to living on a hillside five miles from anyone else, but ideally I'd be a mile along a footpath from a village with shop, pub, school and functioning church.

But there are people (and I know some) who find even semi-rural life suffocating, because everybody minds your business for you. I actually like that: you get reports back on your DC's behaviour from people you barely know.

But then, my idea of a really good day out is an agricultural show...

We've just done a similar move. We enjoyed living rurally pre kids but with small children it was all just too much hassle. Having said that we still live quite rurally, but in a village that has pavements, shop, park etc. And other kids! We've also got a larger market town and a major A road on our doorstep so not really isolated.

City life wouldn't be for us but then being totally rural didn't work either. I think somewhere in between is nice!

I don’t know about healthier but I am tired of some (SOME) country people sneering and looking down their noses and say they could never live in a city as it’s too crowded and bragging about how it’s so peaceful and quiet to live away from everyone, and then moan whenever there is a flood because nobody can get to them and they’re isolated.

Or moan about the price of petrol.

I think it depends on where you live if the countryside - we moved from London to the countryside, but the village we moved to has shops, pubs, a cafe and, crucially, a train station with regular trains. It's also got an excellent primary school, and a bus to the nearest (outstanding) secondary. The next nearest village (walking distance) has banks, a butcher, hairdresser, GP, dentist...etc.

So for us, it's MUCH healthier to live rurally. However, we chose our location with care, and houses are very expensive to reflect the easy commute.

My daughter moved to London a couple of months ago for work. She lives in zone 2 and works in zone 1. She came home this weekend for the first time and said that when she got off the train, she gulped in huge lungfuls of air, because it felt so clean.

More generally, I agree with others that there are advantages of all locations. I've lived in Central London, in the London suburbs, and in small towns in a rural area.

For me, the small town not too far from a bigger centre is the best compromise. Our town is small enough that more or less anywhere is walkable, and we deliberately bought our house to be no less than 10 minutes walk from the railway station (we both commuted to work by train, and our children went to secondary school by train). When I was much younger I lived in a small town with no railway station closer than 20 miles. That was not so convenient and I definitely wouldn't do it again.

The main health benefit of rural living for me is the significant reduction in spontaneous crime ie stabbings & gangs etc
(However made up for with car crime & county lines....)

YABU in my opinion @BoogleMcGroogle

There is some irony on this thread. People saying 'country folk/people who move to the country are snooty - and think they are so much better than townies/city folk,') and so on.

But they are then going on to do the criticising and bashing, that they're accusing 'country folk' of doing; mocking and berating the country folk, and generally slagging them off.

Bonkers!

Each to their own and I live in a city so have no personal axe to grind, but I do think some of your reasoning is odd OP. You’re talking about very specific examples of people living in the countryside but on dangerous roads with no pavements and speeding cars, and having to get into your car to get anywhere. I have friends who live in countryside a few miles out of our city and they certainly don’t drive somewhere to walk their dogs. There are whole networks of footpaths across rolling hills and fields where they can walk safely without risk of being mown down. Conversely, while I always feel very safe walking anywhere in my area of the city, I’m well aware there are some parts where there are problems with late night boy racers etc where it wouldn’t be safe to be a pedestrian

It’s like you’re comparing apples and oranges.

I agree the city has a lot of benefits though pollution levels worry me... I always feel a lot healthier breathing in country air

Agree with @Acciocats ^

But then, my idea of a really good day out is an agricultural show...

Ha - me too!